SC legislators want to punish 2 colleges for homosexuality books
Source: WIS-TV
Posted: Feb 19, 2014 7:12 PM EST
Updated: Feb 20, 2014 8:20 AM EST
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) - South Carolina legislators want to punish two public colleges for assigning books on homosexuality to freshmen.
The House budget-writing committee on Wednesday tentatively approved a spending plan for 2014-15 that would cut $52,000 from the College of Charleston and $17,142 from the University of South Carolina Upstate.
Last summer, the College of Charleston assigned the Alison Bechdel book, "Fun Home," to incoming freshmen. Bechdel's book describes her childhood with a closeted gay father and her own coming out as a lesbian.
USC Upstate assigned "Out Loud: The Best of Rainbow Radio," referring to South Carolina's first gay and lesbian radio show, for a required course for all freshmen, which included lectures and other out-of-classroom activities meant to spark discussions about the book. Social conservatives complained about the colleges' selections.
Read more: http://www.wistv.com/story/24769620/sc-legislators-want-to-punish-2-colleges-in-budget
South Carolina Champions Academic Freedom ... by Punishing Colleges for Assigning Gay Books
By J. Bryan Lowder
Do you understand diversity and academic freedom? If youre not sure, you might want to check with South Carolinas Gary Smith, a Republican state representative, who just yesterday demonstrated his considerable expertise on those subjects by proposing punitive reductions to the budgets of two SC colleges that had assigned books that acknowledge the existence of LGBTQ people.
The books in question are Fun Home, Alison Bechdels highly acclaimed account of her childhood (presided over by her closeted gay dad) and her own eventual coming out as lesbian, and Out Loud: The Best of Rainbow Radio, a collection of personal narratives that originally appeared on Rainbow Radio, South Carolinas first gay and lesbian radio show. The College of Charleston and the University of South Carolina Upstate assigned the texts, respectively, as part of their incoming freshmen orientation programs.
According to an AP report, Smith submitted the proposal after he learned that students were not given the option of reading other, presumably non-gay, selections. Such a lack of options, he said, amounted to the promotion of a lifestyle with no academic debate. (I cant imagine what would have happened if a truly propagandistic book like David Halperins dangerously seductive How to Be Gay had been assignedoh wait, I dont have to.) While even some of Smiths own Republican colleagues felt the proposal went too far toward academic censorshipone called it stupidthe measure has been tentatively approved by the House budget committee.
Smiths use of lifestyle deserves little more than a sigh at this point, but his disturbing vision of the purpose of a university-level education is worth noting. His concern that students aren't being allowed a choice in their assignments not only smacks of the segregationist logic currently being tried out in various state anti-gay "religious liberty" laws; it also reveals a corporate ideal that has become depressingly common in higher education. Students are consumers and universities are there to provide what the customer wantsor better yet, what they are comfortable with. Forget about challenging unexamined prejudices, and dont worry about promoting critical thinking skills, a wider and richer understanding of the world, and, indeed, actual academic debate: Students (or perhaps parents) should just be able to strike whatever they dont like from the syllabus.
more
http://www.slate.com/blogs/outward/2014/02/20/gay_book_punishment_south_carolina_legislators_fine_college_of_charleston.html?wpisrc=newsletter_jcr:content&mc_cid=3aa0b36da6&mc_eid=7a8b58c8c3
KamaAina
(78,249 posts)Swede Atlanta
(3,596 posts)Putie, Poot (GWB's boyfriend) just does his gay bashing to show he is such a man's man and to "protect the children". SC does this because they think Jesus hates LGBT persons and wants them persecuted.
SC legislature fails to understand that the concept of the university is a place that as a place of higher learning, a university is to be given fairly wide latitude to engage in independent academic work. That includes exposing students to a diverse range of subject matters (hence the reason for the undergraduate required variety of study areas including liberal arts, science, social science, etc) and a wide range of thought.
Refusing universities the ability to expose students to diverse points of view does not provide students with that breadth and depth of knowledge and intellectual curiosity that serves us so well.
I'm sure these SC legislators would not have a problem with the university mandating a reading of the Bible, especially the New Testament.
Bluenorthwest
(45,319 posts)yourself. Those laws have wide support among Russians and nearly universal support among those who attend religious services. Same as in SC. Not different. Same.
blkmusclmachine
(16,149 posts)okaawhatever
(9,462 posts)C. Trying to get a favorable ruling from the current scotus.
While my go-to answer is usually A, I'm thinking over C pretty hard. All the red states want favorable states rights and pro-theocracy rulings out of the current scotus before something happens.
notemason
(299 posts)(then USC-Spartanburg) when it started 46 years ago in the wings of Spartanburg General Hospital. We were coming off civil rights heading into Nam and we were as a core liberal. Glad to see those traditions remain. It's real simple, follow the Golden Rule.